Israel (2003) | Paraguay (2005) | |
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Administrative divisions | 6 districts (mehozot, singular - mehoz); Central, Haifa, Jerusalem, Northern, Southern, Tel Aviv | 17 departments (departamentos, singular - departamento) and 1 capital city*; Alto Paraguay, Alto Parana, Amambay, Asuncion*, Boqueron, Caaguazu, Caazapa, Canindeyu, Central, Concepcion, Cordillera, Guaira, Itapua, Misiones, Neembucu, Paraguari, Presidente Hayes, San Pedro |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 26.9% (male 842,885; female 803,864)
15-64 years: 63.2% (male 1,941,440; female 1,922,512) 65 years and over: 9.9% (male 260,315; female 345,517) (2003 est.) |
0-14 years: 37.9% (male 1,223,479/female 1,184,134)
15-64 years: 57.3% (male 1,825,473/female 1,809,810) 65 years and over: 4.8% (male 140,935/female 164,053) (2005 est.) |
Agriculture - products | citrus, vegetables, cotton; beef, poultry, dairy products | cotton, sugarcane, soybeans, corn, wheat, tobacco, cassava (tapioca), fruits, vegetables; beef, pork, eggs, milk; timber |
Airports | 52 (2002) | 878 (2004 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 28
over 3,047 m: 2 2,438 to 3,047 m: 4 1,524 to 2,437 m: 7 914 to 1,523 m: 11 under 914 m: 4 (2002) |
total: 12
over 3,047 m: 3 1,524 to 2,437 m: 5 914 to 1,523 m: 4 (2004 est.) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 24
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 3 under 914 m: 20 (2002) |
total: 866
1,524 to 2,437 m: 26 914 to 1,523 m: 323 under 914 m: 517 (2004 est.) |
Area | total: 20,770 sq km
land: 20,330 sq km water: 440 sq km |
total: 406,750 sq km
land: 397,300 sq km water: 9,450 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than New Jersey | slightly smaller than California |
Background | Following World War II, the British withdrew from their mandate of Palestine, and the UN partitioned the area into Arab and Jewish states, an arrangement rejected by the Arabs. Subsequently, the Israelis defeated the Arabs in a series of wars without ending the deep tensions between the two sides. The territories occupied by Israel since the 1967 war are not included in the Israel country profile, unless otherwise noted. On 25 April 1982, Israel withdrew from the Sinai pursuant to the 1979 Israel-Egypt Peace Treaty. Outstanding territorial and other disputes with Jordan were resolved in the 26 October 1994 Israel-Jordan Treaty of Peace. In addition, on 25 May 2000, Israel withdrew unilaterally from southern Lebanon, which it had occupied since 1982. In keeping with the framework established at the Madrid Conference in October 1991, bilateral negotiations were conducted between Israel and Palestinian representatives (from the Israeli-occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip) and Syria to achieve a permanent settlement. But progress toward a permanent status agreement has been undermined by the outbreak of Palestinian-Israeli violence since September 2000. | In the disastrous War of the Triple Alliance (1865-70), Paraguay lost two-thirds of all adult males and much of its territory. It stagnated economically for the next half century. In the Chaco War of 1932-35, large, economically important areas were won from Bolivia. The 35-year military dictatorship of Alfredo STROESSNER was overthrown in 1989, and, despite a marked increase in political infighting in recent years, relatively free and regular presidential elections have been held since then. |
Birth rate | 18.67 births/1,000 population (2003 est.) | 29.43 births/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $38.5 billion
expenditures: $45.1 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2002 est.) |
revenues: $1.123 billion
expenditures: $1.129 billion, including capital expenditures of $700 million (2004 est.) |
Capital | Jerusalem; note - Israel proclaimed Jerusalem as its capital in 1950, but the US, like nearly all other countries, maintains its Embassy in Tel Aviv | Asuncion |
Climate | temperate; hot and dry in southern and eastern desert areas | subtropical to temperate; substantial rainfall in the eastern portions, becoming semiarid in the far west |
Coastline | 273 km | 0 km (landlocked) |
Constitution | no formal constitution; some of the functions of a constitution are filled by the Declaration of Establishment (1948), the Basic Laws of the parliament (Knesset), and the Israeli citizenship law | promulgated 20 June 1992 |
Country name | conventional long form: State of Israel
conventional short form: Israel local long form: Medinat Yisra'el local short form: Yisra'el |
conventional long form: Republic of Paraguay
conventional short form: Paraguay local long form: Republica del Paraguay local short form: Paraguay |
Currency | new Israeli shekel (ILS); note - NIS is the currency abbreviation; ILS is the International Organization for Standarization (ISO) code for the NIS | - |
Death rate | 6.2 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.) | 4.53 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Debt - external | $42.8 billion (2001 est.) | $3.239 billion (2004 est.) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Daniel C. KURTZER
embassy: 71 Hayarkon Street, Tel Aviv mailing address: PSC 98, Box 29, APO AE 09830 telephone: [972] (3) 519-7457/7369/7454/7458/7453 FAX: [972] (3) 517-4390 consulate(s) general: Jerusalem; note - an independent US mission, established in 1928, whose members are not accredited to a foreign government |
chief of mission: Ambassador John F. KEANE
embassy: 1776 Avenida Mariscal Lopez, Casilla Postal 402, Asuncion mailing address: Unit 4711, APO AA 34036-0001 telephone: [595] (21) 213-715 FAX: [595] (21) 213-728 |
Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Daniel AYALON
chancery: 3514 International Drive NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 364-5500 FAX: [1] (202) 364-5607 consulate(s) general: Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, Philadelphia, and San Francisco |
chief of mission: Ambassador James SPALDING Hellmers
chancery: 2400 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 483-6960 through 6962 FAX: [1] (202) 234-4508 consulate(s) general: Kansas City, Los Angeles, Miami, New York |
Disputes - international | West Bank and Gaza Strip are Israeli-occupied with current status subject to the Israeli-Palestinian Interim Agreement - permanent status to be determined through further negotiation; Golan Heights is Israeli-occupied (Lebanon claims the Shab'a Farms area of Golan Heights) | unruly region at convergence of Argentina-Brazil-Paraguay borders is locus of money laundering, smuggling, arms and illegal narcotics trafficking, and fundraising for extremist organizations |
Economic aid - recipient | $720 million from US (2001 est.) | NA |
Economy - overview | Israel has a technologically advanced market economy with substantial government participation. It depends on imports of crude oil, grains, raw materials, and military equipment. Despite limited natural resources, Israel has intensively developed its agricultural and industrial sectors over the past 20 years. Israel imports significant quantities of grain but is largely self-sufficient in other agricultural products. Cut diamonds, high-technology equipment, and agricultural products (fruits and vegetables) are the leading exports. Israel usually posts sizable current account deficits, which are covered by large transfer payments from abroad and by foreign loans. Roughly half of the government's external debt is owed to the US, which is its major source of economic and military aid. The influx of Jewish immigrants from the former USSR during the period 1989-99, coupled with the opening of new markets at the end of the Cold War, energized Israel's economy, which grew rapidly in the early 1990s; growth began moderating in 1996 when the government imposed tighter fiscal and monetary policies and the immigration bonus petered out. Growth was a strong 7.2% in 2000, but the bitter Israeli-Palestinian conflict, difficulties in the high-technology, construction, and tourist sectors, and fiscal austerity in the face of growing inflation led to small declines in GDP in 2001 and 2002. | Landlocked Paraguay has a market economy marked by a large informal sector. This sector features both reexport of imported consumer goods to neighboring countries as well as the activities of thousands of microenterprises and urban street vendors. Because of the importance of the informal sector, accurate economic measures are difficult to obtain. A large percentage of the population derives their living from agricultural activity, often on a subsistence basis. The formal economy grew by an average of about 3% annually in 1995-97, but averaged near-zero growth in 1998-2001 and contracted by 2.3 percent in 2002, in response to regional contagion and an outbreak of hoof-and-mouth desease. On a per capita basis, real income has stagnated at 1980 levels. Most observers attribute Paraguay's poor economic performance to political uncertainty, corruption, lack of progress on structural reform, substantial internal and external debt, and deficient infrastructure. Aided by a firmer exchange rate and perhaps a greater confidence in the economic policy of the Duarte FRUTOS administration, the economy rebounded in 2003 and 2004, posting modest growth each year. |
Electricity - consumption | 37.82 billion kWh (2001) | 2.469 billion kWh (2002) |
Electricity - exports | 1.457 billion kWh (2001) | 42.51 billion kWh (2002) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2001) | 0 kWh (2002) |
Electricity - production | 42.24 billion kWh (2001) | 48.36 billion kWh (2002) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel: 99.9%
hydro: 0.1% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2001) |
- |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Dead Sea -408 m
highest point: Har Meron 1,208 m |
lowest point: junction of Rio Paraguay and Rio Parana 46 m
highest point: Cerro Pero (Cerro Tres Kandu) 842 m |
Environment - current issues | limited arable land and natural fresh water resources pose serious constraints; desertification; air pollution from industrial and vehicle emissions; groundwater pollution from industrial and domestic waste, chemical fertilizers, and pesticides | deforestation; water pollution; inadequate means for waste disposal pose health risks for many urban residents; loss of wetlands |
Environment - international agreements | party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Marine Life Conservation |
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
Ethnic groups | Jewish 80.1% (Europe/America-born 32.1%, Israel-born 20.8%, Africa-born 14.6%, Asia-born 12.6%), non-Jewish 19.9% (mostly Arab) (1996 est.) | mestizo (mixed Spanish and Amerindian) 95%, other 5% |
Exchange rates | new Israeli shekels per US dollar - 4.74 (2002), 4.21 (2001), 4.08 (2000), 4.14 (1999), 3.8 (1998) | guarani per US dollar - 5,974.6 (2004), 6,424.3 (2003), 5,716.3 (2002), 4,105.9 (2001), 3,486.4 (2000) |
Executive branch | chief of state: President Moshe KATSAV (since 31 July 2000)
head of government: Prime Minister Ariel SHARON (since 7 March 2001) cabinet: Cabinet selected by prime minister and approved by the Knesset elections: president elected by the Knesset for a seven-year term; election last held 31 July 2000 (next to be held NA 2007); following legislative elections, the president assigns a Knesset member - traditionally the leader of the largest party - the task of forming a governing coalition; election last held 28 January 2003 (next to be held fall of 2007) election results: Moshe KATSAV elected president by the 120-member Knesset with a total of 60 votes, other candidate, Shimon PERES, received 57 votes (there were three abstentions); Ariel SHARON continues as prime minister after Likud Party victory in January 2003 Knesset elections; Likud won 38 seats and then formed coalition government with Shinui, the National Religious Party, and the National Union |
chief of state: President Nicanor DUARTE Frutos (since 15 August 2003); Vice President Luis CASTIGLIONI Joria (since 15 August 2003); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government
head of government: President Nicanor DUARTE Frutos (since 15 August 2003); Vice President Luis CASTIGLIONI Joria (since 15 August 2003); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government cabinet: Council of Ministers nominated by the president elections: president and vice president elected on the same ticket by popular vote for five-year terms; election last held 27 April 2003 (next to be held April 2008) election results: Nicanor DUARTE Frutos elected president; percent of vote - Nicanor DUARTE Frutos 37.1%, Julio Cesar Ramon FRANCO Gomez 23.9%, Pedro Nicolas Maraa FADUL Niella 21.3%, Guillermo SANCHEZ Guffanti 13.5%, other 4.2% |
Exports | NA (2001) | NA |
Exports - commodities | machinery and equipment, software, cut diamonds, agricultural products, chemicals, textiles and apparel | soybeans, feed, cotton, meat, edible oils, electricity, wood, leather |
Exports - partners | US 39.2%, Belgium 6.5%, Germany 4.4%, UK 4.2% (2002) | Uruguay 27.8%, Brazil 19.2%, Argentina 6.3%, Switzerland 4.1% (2004) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | calendar year |
Flag description | white with a blue hexagram (six-pointed linear star) known as the Magen David (Shield of David) centered between two equal horizontal blue bands near the top and bottom edges of the flag | three equal, horizontal bands of red (top), white, and blue with an emblem centered in the white band; unusual flag in that the emblem is different on each side; the obverse (hoist side at the left) bears the national coat of arms (a yellow five-pointed star within a green wreath capped by the words REPUBLICA DEL PARAGUAY, all within two circles); the reverse (hoist side at the right) bears the seal of the treasury (a yellow lion below a red Cap of Liberty and the words Paz y Justicia (Peace and Justice) capped by the words REPUBLICA DEL PARAGUAY, all within two circles) |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $117.4 billion (2002 est.) | - |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 3%
industry: 30% services: 67% (2001 est.) |
agriculture: 25.3%
industry: 24.9% services: 49.8% (2004 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $19,500 (2002 est.) | purchasing power parity - $4,800 (2004 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | -0.8% (2002 est.) | 2.8% (2004 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 31 30 N, 34 45 E | 23 00 S, 58 00 W |
Geography - note | there are 242 Israeli settlements and civilian land use sites in the West Bank, 42 in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, 25 in the Gaza Strip, and 29 in East Jerusalem (February 2002 est.); Sea of Galilee is an important freshwater source | landlocked; lies between Argentina, Bolivia, and Brazil; population concentrated in southern part of country |
Heliports | 3 (2002) | - |
Highways | total: 16,281 km
paved: 16,281 km (including 56 km of expressways) unpaved: 0 km (2000) |
total: 29,500 km
paved: 14,986 km unpaved: 14,514 km (1999 est) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: 2.4%
highest 10%: 28.3% (1997) |
lowest 10%: 0.5%
highest 10%: 43.8% (1998) |
Illicit drugs | increasingly concerned about cocaine and heroin abuse; drugs arrive in country from Lebanon and, increasingly, from Jordan | major illicit producer of cannabis, most or all of which is consumed in Brazil, Argentina, and Chile; transshipment country for Andean cocaine headed for Brazil, other Southern Cone markets, Europe, and US; corruption and some money-laundering activity, especially in the Tri-Border Area |
Imports | NA (2001) | NA |
Imports - commodities | raw materials, military equipment, investment goods, rough diamonds, fuels, grain, consumer goods | road vehicles, consumer goods, tobacco, petroleum products, electrical machinery |
Imports - partners | US 21.6%, Belgium 8.9%, Germany 6.7%, UK 6.6%, Switzerland 4.9%, Italy 4.5% (2002) | Brazil 30.9%, Argentina 23.3%, China 16.6%, US 4% (2004) |
Independence | 14 May 1948 (from League of Nations mandate under British administration) | 14 May 1811 (from Spain) |
Industrial production growth rate | -1.5% (2002 est.) | 0% (2000 est.) |
Industries | high-technology projects (including aviation, communications, computer-aided design and manufactures, medical electronics), wood and paper products, potash and phosphates, food, beverages, and tobacco, caustic soda, cement, diamond cutting | sugar, cement, textiles, beverages, wood products, steel, metallurgic, electric power |
Infant mortality rate | total: 7.37 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 8.14 deaths/1,000 live births female: 6.57 deaths/1,000 live births (2003 est.) |
total: 25.63 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 30.37 deaths/1,000 live births female: 20.66 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 5.7% (2002 est.) | 5.1% (2004 est.) |
International organization participation | BSEC (observer), CE (observer), CERN (observer), EBRD, ECE, FAO, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt (signatory), ICFTU, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS (associate), ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, OAS (observer), OPCW (signatory), OSCE (partner), PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UPU, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO | CSN, FAO, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO (correspondent), ITU, LAES, LAIA, Mercosur, MIGA, MINUSTAH, MONUC, NAM (observer), OAS, ONUB, OPANAL, OPCW, PCA, RG, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNMEE, UNMIL, UNOCI, UPU, WCL, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 21 (2000) | - |
Irrigated land | 1,990 sq km (1998 est.) | 670 sq km (1998 est.) |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court (justices appointed for life by the president) | Supreme Court of Justice or Corte Suprema de Justicia (judges appointed on the proposal of the Council of Magistrates or Consejo de la Magistratura) |
Labor force | 2.5 million (2002 est.) | 2.66 million (2004 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | public services 31.2%, manufacturing 20.2%, finance and business 13.1%, commerce 12.8%, construction 7.5%, personal and other services 6.4%, transport, storage, and communications 6.2%, agriculture, forestry, and fishing 2.6% (1996) | agriculture 45% |
Land boundaries | total: 1,017 km
border countries: Egypt 266 km, Gaza Strip 51 km, Jordan 238 km, Lebanon 79 km, Syria 76 km, West Bank 307 km |
total: 3,920 km
border countries: Argentina 1,880 km, Bolivia 750 km, Brazil 1,290 km |
Land use | arable land: 17.02%
permanent crops: 4.17% other: 78.81% (1998 est.) |
arable land: 7.6%
permanent crops: 0.23% other: 92.17% (2001) |
Languages | Hebrew (official), Arabic used officially for Arab minority, English most commonly used foreign language | Spanish (official), Guarani (official) |
Legal system | mixture of English common law, British Mandate regulations, and, in personal matters, Jewish, Christian, and Muslim legal systems; in December 1985, Israel informed the UN Secretariat that it would no longer accept compulsory ICJ jurisdiction | based on Argentine codes, Roman law, and French codes; judicial review of legislative acts in Supreme Court of Justice |
Legislative branch | unicameral Knesset or parliament (120 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 28 January 2003 (next to be held fall of 2007) election results: percent of vote by party - Likud Party 29.4%, Labor 14.5%, Shinui 12.3%, Shas 8.2%, National Union 5.5%, Meretz 5.2%, United Torah Judaism 4.3%, National Religious Party 4.2%, Democratic Front for Peace and Equality 3.0%, One Nation 2.8%, National Democratic Alliance 2.3%, YBA 2.2%, United Arab List 2.1%, Green Leaf Party 1.2%, Herut 1.2%, other 1.6%; seats by party - Likud 38, Labor 19, Shinui 15, Shas 11, National Union 7, Meretz 6, National Religious Party 6, United Torah Judaism 5, Democratic Front for Peace and Equality 3, One Nation 3, National Democratic Alliance 3, YBA 2, United Arab List 2 |
bicameral Congress or Congreso consists of the Chamber of Senators or Camara de Senadores (45 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms) and the Chamber of Deputies or Camara de Diputados (80 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms)
elections: Chamber of Senators - last held 27 April 2003 (next to be held April 2008); Chamber of Deputies - last held 27 April 2003 (next to be held April 2008) election results: Chamber of Senators - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - ANR 16, PLRA 12, UNACE 7, PQ 7, PPS 2, PEN 1; Chamber of Deputies - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - ANR 37, PLRA 21, UNACE 10, PQ 10, PPS 2 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 79.02 years
male: 76.95 years female: 81.19 years (2003 est.) |
total population: 74.89 years
male: 72.35 years female: 77.55 years (2005 est.) |
Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 95.4% male: 97.3% female: 93.6% (2003 est.) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 94% male: 94.9% female: 93% (2003 est.) |
Location | Middle East, bordering the Mediterranean Sea, between Egypt and Lebanon | Central South America, northeast of Argentina |
Map references | Middle East | South America |
Maritime claims | continental shelf: to depth of exploitation
territorial sea: 12 NM |
none (landlocked) |
Merchant marine | total: 18 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 705,897 GRT/823,605 DWT
ships by type: container 17, roll on/roll off 1 (2002 est.) |
total: 21 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 31,667 GRT/30,826 DWT
by type: cargo 15, livestock carrier 1, passenger 1, petroleum tanker 2, roll on/roll off 2 foreign-owned: 2 (Argentina 2) registered in other countries: 1 (2005) |
Military branches | Israel Defense Forces (IDF) (includes ground, naval, and air components with Air Defense Forces), Pioneer Fighting Youth (Nahal); note - historically there have been no separate Israeli military services | Army, Navy (includes Naval Aviation, River Defense Corps, Coast Guard), Air Force |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $8.97 billion (FY02) | $53.1 million (2004) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 8.75% (FY02) | 0.9% (2003) |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49: 1,562,716
females age 15-49: 1,516,505 note: both sexes are liable for military service (2003 est.) |
- |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49: 1,279,277
females age 15-49: 1,237,926 (2003 est.) |
- |
Military manpower - military age | 18 years of age (2003 est.) | - |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | males: 51,080
females: 53,496 (2003 est.) |
- |
National holiday | Independence Day, 14 May (1948); note - Israel declared independence on 14 May 1948, but the Jewish calendar is lunar and the holiday may occur in April or May | Independence Day, 14 May 1811 (observed 15 May annually) |
Nationality | noun: Israeli(s)
adjective: Israeli |
noun: Paraguayan(s)
adjective: Paraguayan |
Natural hazards | sandstorms may occur during spring and summer; droughts; periodic earthquakes | local flooding in southeast (early September to June); poorly drained plains may become boggy (early October to June) |
Natural resources | timber, potash, copper ore, natural gas, phosphate rock, magnesium bromide, clays, sand | hydropower, timber, iron ore, manganese, limestone |
Net migration rate | 1.39 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2003 est.) | -0.08 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Pipelines | gas 100 km; oil 1,509 km (2003) | - |
Political parties and leaders | Center Party [Dan MERIDOR]; Democratic Front for Peace and Equality (Hadash) [Muhammad BARAKA]; Democratic Movement [Roman BRONFMAN]; Gesher [David LEVI]; Green Leaf Party [Boaz WACHTEL and Shlomi SANDAK]; Herut [Michael KLEINER]; Labor Party [Binyamin BEN-ELIEZER]; Likud Party [Ariel SHARON]; Meimad [Rabbi Michael MELCHIOR]; Meretz [Yossi SARID]; National Democratic Alliance (Balad) [Azmi BISHARA]; National Religious Party [Yitzhak LEVY]; National Union [Benyamin ELON] (includes Tekuma and Moledet); One Israel [Ra'anan COHEN]; One Nation [Amir PERETZ]; Shas [Eliyahu YISHAI]; Shinui [Tommy LAPID]; United Arab List [Abd al-Malik DAHAMSHAH]; United Torah Judaism [Meir PORUSH]; Yisra'el Ba'Aliya or YBA [Natan SHARANSKY]; Yisra'el Beiteinu [Avigdor LIEBERMAN] | Asociacion Nacional Republicana - Colorado Party or ANR [Herminio CACERES, interim president]; Movimiento Union Nacional de Ciudadanos Eticos or UNACE [Enrique GONZALEZ Quintana, acting chairman]; Patria Querida (Beloved Fatherland Party) or PQ [Pedro Nicolas Maraa FADUL Niella]; Partido Encuentro Nacional or PEN [Luis TORALES Kenney]; Partido Liberal Radical Autentico or PLRA [Julio Cesar FRANCO]; Partido Pais Solidario or PPS [Carlos Alberto FILIZZOLA Pallares]
note: Nicanor DUARTE Frutos on leave as party leader of the Colorado Party or ANR while serving as President of Paraguay; Lino Cesar OVIEDO Silva, leader of UNACE, is currently serving a ten-year prison term |
Political pressure groups and leaders | Israeli nationalists advocating Jewish settlement on the West Bank and Gaza Strip; Peace Now supports territorial concessions in the West Bank and Gaza Strip; Yesha (settler) Council promotes settler interests and opposes territorial compromise; B'Tselem monitors human rights abuses | Ahorristas Estafados or AE; Coordinating Table of National Campesino Organizations or MCNOC; National Federation of Campesinos or FNC; National Workers Central or CNT; Paraguayan Workers Confederation or CPT; Roman Catholic Church; Unitary Workers Central or CUT |
Population | 6,116,533 (July 2002 est.)
note: includes about 187,000 Israeli settlers in the West Bank, about 20,000 in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, more than 5,000 in the Gaza Strip, and fewer than 177,000 in East Jerusalem (February 2003 est.) (July 2003 est.) |
6,347,884 (July 2005 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 18% (2001 est.) | 36% (2001 est.) |
Population growth rate | 1.39% (2003 est.) | 2.48% (2005 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Ashdod, Ashqelon, Elat (Eilat), Hadera, Haifa, Tel Aviv-Yafo | Asuncion, Villeta, San Antonio, Encarnacion |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 23, FM 15, shortwave 2 (1998) | AM 46, FM 27, shortwave 6 (three inactive) (1998) |
Railways | total: 640 km
standard gauge: 640 km 1.435-m gauge (2002) |
total: 441 km
standard gauge: 441 km 1.435-m gauge (2004) |
Religions | Jewish 80.1%, Muslim 14.6% (mostly Sunni Muslim), Christian 2.1%, other 3.2% (1996 est.) | Roman Catholic 90%, Mennonite and other Protestant 10% |
Sex ratio | at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.01 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.75 male(s)/female total population: 0.99 male(s)/female (2003 est.) |
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.03 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.01 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.86 male(s)/female total population: 1.01 male(s)/female (2005 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal and compulsory up to age 75 |
Telephone system | general assessment: most highly developed system in the Middle East although not the largest
domestic: good system of coaxial cable and microwave radio relay; all systems are digital international: 3 submarine cables; satellite earth stations - 3 Intelsat (2 Atlantic Ocean and 1 Indian Ocean) |
general assessment: meager telephone service; principal switching center is Asuncion
domestic: fair microwave radio relay network international: country code - 595; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 2.8 million (1999) | 273,200 (2002) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 2.5 million (1999) | 1,770,300 (2003) |
Television broadcast stations | 17 (plus 36 low-power repeaters) (1995) | 5 (2003) |
Terrain | Negev desert in the south; low coastal plain; central mountains; Jordan Rift Valley | grassy plains and wooded hills east of Rio Paraguay; Gran Chaco region west of Rio Paraguay mostly low, marshy plain near the river, and dry forest and thorny scrub elsewhere |
Total fertility rate | 2.5 children born/woman (2003 est.) | 3.93 children born/woman (2005 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 10.4% (2002 est.) | 15.1% (2004 est.) |
Waterways | none | 3,100 km (2004) |